He took the decision after the party chief Sonelal Patel offered Abu Salem and Dawood Ibrahim to contest on their party ticket.

The Apna Dal chiefly represents the Kurmi caste in Uttar Pradesh (UP). I cross-checked with newspapers and, yes, Patel said that at a function to release the English edition of Bablu's book Unfulfilled Dreams.

"We are not averse to giving tickets to criminals. If they leave the path of crime and want to contest the Assembly election, the Apna Dal welcomes them," its president Sonelal Patel said reports Times Of India, Financial Express and many others from Lucknow.

When asked about his views on fugitive Dawood Ibrahim and Abu Salem, Patel said that they could also contest if they leave the path of crime. Babloo had fought on the ticket of Apna Dal in the last election from jail and had lost the deposit.

However, after the statement of Patel, Babloo today looked aghast. Lodged in Bareilly jail, he said that he would no keep any relation with Apna Dal, float his own party that would fight terrorists. Only a few days back mafia don Abu Salem, extradited from Portugal, reportedly expressed his intention to fight elections.

His lawyer Harjot Singh had informed journalists about Salem's plans to contest from Mubarakpur in Azamgarh (UP). Sonelal Patel's party is much sought-after during elections and the polls in UP are just a few months away.

In a multi-cornered contest a shift of 1-2% matters a lot but Sonelal Patel's views of helping those criminals who wish to reform don't hold much water.

Patel is no angel and he surely knows the difference between criminals and terrorists. And Babloo, once an accomplice of various underworld dons, takes the high moral ground and seems to be posing as a patriotic don.

So he is hurt and has resigned from the party. Any hopes of cleansing the political system of the country! PS: Shivaji was a Kurmi, says wikipedia and of course Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is also a Kurmi.

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